Pat Lampkin to retire

Patricia M. Lampkin (Educ ’86), known for her decades-long work with students—from advising individuals to enhancing student self-governance across the University, will retire as vice president and chief student affairs officer this summer.

Lampkin announced in mid-January her plans to retire in August if a replacement is in place.

“I have had a long and rewarding career in Student Affairs, and I can honestly report that I have enjoyed almost every moment, both the good and the challenging,” Lampkin wrote in a message to colleagues. “It is time, however, to turn over the reins to a new generation of [Student Affairs] leadership.”

Lampkin started her 40-year-plus career at UVA in 1979, when she took a job in residence life. In 1987, she moved up to associate dean of students, responsible for resident life. She later served as compliance officer for the Americans with Disabilities Act and associate vice president for student affairs. Lampkin took over as vice president and chief student affairs officer in 2002.

With her husband, Wayne Cozart, executive director of UVA Alumni Association’s Jefferson Trust, Lampkin also became a fixture on Grounds. Cozart and Lampkin, the first female faculty member to be appointed a pavilion resident on the Lawn, have lived in three of the 10 pavilions—Pavilion VIII, Pavilion III and, since 2008, Pavilion V. Their two children were born while the couple lived in Pavilion VIII, and they’re known for inviting students in, even for midnight breakfasts during exam week. 

“To many members of our community, Pat Lampkin is UVA,” wrote President James E. Ryan (Law ’92) in a message to the University community. “She represents the beating heart of the student experience that is so central to who we are as an institution, and over the years has served as a mentor, a teacher, a friend, and occasionally an innkeeper for generations of students.”

Among her accomplishments, Lampkin is credited with creating the University Board of Elections to improve Student Council elections; establishing the Meriwether Lewis Institute for Citizen Leadership, which provides students with an immersive leadership experience; and leading the restructuring and expansion of the University Career Center to better support students’ professional development after graduation.

In 2012, Lampkin received the Thomas Jefferson Award for excellence in service, the highest honor given to University community members. 

“Most every day presented unique opportunities that needed to be addressed as a unit with empathy and compassion, as well as with quickness and clear thinking,” Lampkin wrote in her message to staff. “We saw up close the ever-changing needs in our student body, as well as in our own organizational structure in order to keep up with the times. There was no status quo.”